Wednesday, July 25, 2012

We absolutely love having a kitchen counter overflowing with fresh local fruit! What we don't love is the inundation of fruit flies that often seems to be part of the bargain. So every year we head to the cupboard where we store leftover plastic food containers and set about constructing a fruit fly trap. It's really simple and highly effective. Here's how you do it:

Step 1: Assemble your parts and your tools. You'll need a small plastic container and lid, the kind that you bring home wet food from the grocery store in; something with sharp tines you can use to poke holes in the container's lid- we use a carving fork; some vinegar; and some spoiled fruit, fruit peels, or trimmings.

Step 2: Being careful of your fingers while working, poke 6 or 8 small holes in the lid of the container. Make them just slightly larger than the size of a fruit fly. Too small and the little critters won't be able to crawl inside, which of course is the whole point; too big and they'll be able to crawl back out. Be sure you poke in the direction of the inside of the container. When you make the hole you'll be creating a little plastic cone descending into the trap. Flies go up to the highest surface they can when trying to escape; the cone has the effect of making the entry hole slightly lower than the surface of the rest of the lid. Only the smartest of flies will be able to figure this out and make their getaway.

Step 3: Place a couple of pieces of the spoiled fruit into the container. There is no need to load it up. The gasses emitted from a small amount of bait will be enough to attract them.

Step 4: Add just enough vinegar to create a shallow pool in the bottom of the container. The vinegar will help attract the flies, and it is also what will ultimately capture them. Any vinegar will do. We use a white wine vinegar because we find its scent a little less harsh should we catch the odd whiff from the trap, and because you can see how effective your handiwork is (something that Balsamic, say, would not permit!)

Step 5: Et voila! Close up the lid and place the trap near your bounty of fresh fruit. It should work for 3 to 5 days depending on how hot your kitchen is and how spoiled your bait was to begin with. The trapped flies will end up floating in the vinegar- give it a swirl just before disposal to ensure any live ones get well wetted, and just flush your problems away! A word of warning: the captured flies will lay eggs on the bait, so if you leave the trap too long without emptying, you will actually end up with a fruit fly farm on your counter! Not really the intended results!